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News About Tech, Money and InnovationSun, 02 Aug 2015 19:00:51 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3Copyright 2015, VentureBeat10 endings that shocked everyone this gaming generationhttp://venturebeat.com/2013/10/21/best-current-gen-stories-endings/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/21/best-current-gen-stories-endings/#commentsMon, 21 Oct 2013 18:00:49 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=839083Video games have given us some amazing stories this generation. Now's the perfect time to remember them as we anticipate the next wave of consoles.
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This is part of our ongoing series about games and trends of one of the most longest-lived eras in gaming’s history — the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 generation.

We’re slapping a huge spoiler warning on this one, so read at your own risk! Below, we recall some of the best stories and endings from this video game generation. Chances are you’re still talking about them. Or maybe they’re so bad, it’s better to try to forget. In that case — sorry!

BioShock Infinite

We might as well get this one out of the way first because I know you’re all thinking about it. The mysteries of BioShock Infinite had everyone sharing their theories and interpretations. We’re still waiting for designer Ken Levine to explain it to us.

Say what you will about the violence, but few stories in the past six or seven years managed to elicit such thought-provoking responses like Infinite did. Seriously — how much did it blow your mind? Lighthouses and Rapture, man.

Batman: Arkham City

I still can’t get over this one. Batman has toyed with the idea of letting the Joker die before, but he always saves him and throws his butt back in Arkham Asylum, and so the dance continues. But Paul Dini and the other writers devised a clever way that Batman could remain a hero and still put an end to Gotham’s ultimate madman. More than 70 years of comics have never been so bold.

It’s a shame we probably won’t get to see what happens next as Batman: Arkham Origins, under the care of Warner Bros. Games Montréal, moves away from the story that former developer Rocksteady Studios created.

Prince of Persia

Every fan probably fumes at the very memory. Prince of Persia (the remake) is somewhat unremarkable except for its ending. Developer Ubisoft Montreal even released downloadable content to try to smooth over any resentment, but it’s pretty much a slap in the face when all your efforts to save the world are underdone, and it’s the protagonist’s fault. Because he’s in love and stuff.

Grumble, grumble.

Portal 2

While the original Portal is also a great contender, it’s hard to forget the awesomeness of shooting a portal on the moon’s surface and then blasting Wheatley into space. It was pretty satisfying.

Besides, who doesn’t like to top off hours of puzzle-solving with a good Jonathan Coulton song about the artificial intelligence GLaDOS’s hatred of the main character, Chell?

Mass Effect 3

BioWare got a lot of hate for its endings to Mass Effect 3, which made players feel like their choices didn’t matter all. They were so infuriating that they prompted a whole Internet campaign to “Retake Mass Effect,” along with legal complaints of false advertising.

Ultimately, this controversy led to the free downloadable content pack Extended Cut, which expanded on the finale for those who were unhappy the first time around.

Red Dead Redemption

Some have called the ending to Red Dead Redemption one of the best in video games. Others seem to hate it. But it’s certainly emotional.

After protagonist John Marston reunites with his family, they try to put their lives back in order — and players undertake that task with them. Then it all comes to a painful end as Red Dead Redemption does what few games dare to: kill the hero. For real.

The Walking Dead

The five-part The Walking Dead showed us the true horror behind a zombie invasion: the difficult choices people have to make to survive. It’s even harder to watch a child learn that lesson as she does with her parents and, later, Lee. She can either walk away and leave him to his fate alone or … well, you know.

Spec Ops: The Line

Spec Ops: The Line isn’t a traditional first-person shooter. It prompted a lot of different responses to its take on violence in video games, especially our participation in warfare.

Surprisingly, you’re supposed to feel bad. This is one game that aims to make you feel horrible for doing horrible things.

Deadly Premonition

Deadly Premonition is probably most deserving of being on this list simply because so many people overlooked it early on. Hey, maybe we just didn’t “get” it. That happens. Or maybe we finally calmed down enough about its bad gameplay to realize the characters and murder mystery surprises were actually pretty enjoyable.

And face it: You want to know who “Zach” is … .

The Last of Us

Gamers adored The Last of Us, but the ending in particular is an interesting twist. When the human race is close to a cure for the Cordyceps infection, Joel chooses to save Ellie instead of sacrificing her for the sake of a vaccine. Isn’t that exactly what every other “zombie” game or movie tells us not to do?

]]>010 endings that shocked everyone this gaming generationSimCity drops to $28, Paradox gives away free Europa 3http://venturebeat.com/2013/04/09/gamefly-bundles-2k-games-cheap-to-push-sales/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/04/09/gamefly-bundles-2k-games-cheap-to-push-sales/#commentsWed, 10 Apr 2013 00:20:02 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=710587SPONSORED: Strategy gamers! Allocate your resources toward these two titles: SimCity and Europa Universalis III Chronicles. Both have big discounts this week, with one having the best of them all - free!
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Strategy gamers! Allocate your resources toward these two titles: SimCity and Europa Universalis III Chronicles. Both games boast in-depth gameplay, long-running franchises, and have numerous fans – but only one will go down in RTS infamy as an online-only single player game. Setting aside server stumbles, SimCity may actually be worthy of positive attention this week. The PC download is almost half off, and Europa Universalis III is free at GameFly.

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Today SimCitydropped to $28 for the PC download with Origin activation (flame away). This is a solid price for a recently released Triple-A game, server snafus and DRM controversies aside. We suspect the game will soon reach the $30 price point, but don’t expect it to break the $20 barrier until closer to year’s end.

Europa Universalis III Chronicles can be yours for the unbeatable price of FREE today through April 11 at GameFly. You’ll still have to check out with a PayPal account or furnish your credit card info. But if you’re a fan of grand strategy games, you can’t go wrong with this bundle, as it includes all four Europa 3 expansions.

Update: For the weekend of 7/19/13, Gamefly is discounting SimCity to $28. Expires July 22, 10AM Pacific.

Last Thursday

In a move to bolster sales on titles published by 2K Games, GameFly is bundling up a few fan favorites and selling them at wallet-opening prices. This is a trend we’ve noticed lately for PC game sales, where retailers are happy to cheaply bundle last year’s hit releases to increase sales volume.

For the week, GameFly is offering four solid game bundles priced from $5 to $40. If you preordered BioShock Infinite, you’re probably familiar with some of these titles – they’re the same ones given away as bonuses during Infinite’s preorder sales push. Our top pick would be the BioShock dual pack bundle, containing the first two installment of the series for only $4.

If you see something you fancy, you might want to act fast, since all four bundle deals will be gone tomorrow.

On the console front, we’re spotting the first real discounts on recent releases like BioShock Infinite and Army of Two: Devil’s Cartel. While the savings are less substantial compared to their PC counterparts, kudos to GameStop for actually slashing prices on the 360/PS3 versions. Not bad for everyone’s favorite-game-store-to-hate.

2k Games PC bundles

BioShock Dual Pack (PC Download) — $3.99 at GameFly after coupon and includes BioShock 1&2. If you haven’t played the well-reviewed BioShock series, this is a cheap way to start. The cheapest we’ve seen this combo in the past is $10, and each game normally costs $20 apiece. Note the GameFly coupon code can only be used once per account, though it can apply to multiple games at once.

BioShock, BioShock 2, and Spec Ops: The Line Bundle (PC Download) — $7.99 at GameFly after coupon. On the surface, this is a good value since each game separately totals up to $70. That said, it’s actually a better move to buy both the BioShock bundle and the Spec Ops: The Line/The Darkness II bundle in the same transaction and use the once-per account coupon code because you’ll get 4 games instead of 3 for the same price ($8).

Borderlands 2 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown Bundle (PC Download) — $31.99 at GameFly after one-use coupon. Two very popular 2012 games are discounted $78 off their normal combined $110 price. If you buy each separately elsewhere at their lowest prices online, you’ll pay $80.

Last Tuesday’s release: Defiance (PC Download) — $48 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. Elsewhere $60. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are down to $50.99 at GameStop after coupon. This week, the Magic 8 Ball says an 8+ rating from IGN and Metacritic users, although there aren’t many reviews out yet.

Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel (Xbox 360) — $50.99 at GameStop after coupon. List is $60. Like BioShock Infinite this game released last Tuesday, March 26th but received much less attention. Reviewers say it lacks originality, but gameplay appears to be fine. GameStop has the only discount thus far.

PC download deals

Tropico 4 Collectors Bundle (PC Download) — $8 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. List is $40. The bundle includes the Tropico 4 game with 7 DLCs. Think Sim City with a sense of humor, more islands, and fewer server problems.

Kung Fu Strike: The Warrior’s Rise (PC Download) — $1.99 at GameFly after coupon. GameFly discounted this July 2012 retro-style beat-em-up from $9.99 to $2.50. Use their once-per-account coupon code and drop the price further to $1.99.

A Game of Dwarves Sale: Game and DLCs (PC Download) — 66% off at GamersGate. The game alone normally costs $10, and after the 66% discount, you can get the game plus 3 DLCs for only $7.12.

360 & PS3 deals

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Xbox 360, PS3) — $39.99 at NewEgg. Until recently, the February 19th release Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance hasn’t strayed far from its list price, making NewEgg’s $20 discount the best ever by $10. Next best price online is $50 at Amazon, which prior to this week was charging the full $60 list price.

Dishonored (Xbox 360, PS3) — $25.49 at GameStop after coupon. While Dishonored has been around for almost 6 months, this is only the second time it’s hit the $25 price point. (The only other time was Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend.) Elsewhere this week, most retailers dropped their prices from $40 to $30, but GameStop’s coupon code makes this the best deal around.

PS3 Slim 320GB Console (Refurbished) — $171.96 plus $10.44 shipping at TigerDirect. Next best is $300 at Best Buy. While most PlayStation gamers are saving up for a PS4, the PS3 console prices are starting to drop. This 320GB console costs $300 in new condition, so the buyer saves $118.

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]]>3SimCity drops to $28, Paradox gives away free Europa 32012’s most innovative game ideashttp://venturebeat.com/2012/12/23/2012s-most-innovative-game-ideas/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/12/23/2012s-most-innovative-game-ideas/#commentsSun, 23 Dec 2012 20:00:17 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=591661The video game industry always moves forward, striving to do more. The games we played in 2012 impressed and surprised us with the risks they took and gave us great hopes for what comes next.
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What do I like most about video games? They always strive to do more, to be better.

Games we judged as the best of the best a few years ago might seem dated now. Some feature such tight, timeless designs that they do hold up over the long term, but these fall into a very small category. Otherwise, and in every way, this is the industry status quo: Nearly every game competes not only to outdo past iterations but to also completely dwarf every other title on the market. They don’t always succeed. But one way or another, gamers always benefit from the effort.

The industry moves forward, always forward. So we look back to applaud the new directions it took in 2012 and how they might influence what comes next.

Integrating the GamePad

Most Wii U launch titles relegate the GamePad’s spectacular functionality to stolid maps or inventory screens. Ubisoft’s ZombiU does that, too, but in ways that feed directly into — and significantly enhance — its gameplay. Your best tool to survive the undead hordes is the “Prepper Pad” — in fact, the GamePad itself re-created in the game. It scans and tags items, enemies, and exits, but narrowing your attention to the pad’s small screen leaves you vulnerable to attack and permanent character death. Picking through your items makes you feel completely exposed. When a survival-horror game makes inventory management into a completely nerve-wracking experience, you know it’s smarter than the average bear.

Honestly, I haven’t seen game controls so deeply symbiotic with their game since Dance Dance Revolution. ZombiU simply couldn’t exist on a different system, and it’s a beacon to other developers on how to take full advantage of Nintendo’s new hardware.

Silent storytelling

Minimalism isn’t exactly a new thing in games — see N+ and Limbo for details — but minimalism with depth of design and storytelling threads a fine needle with mountaineering rope. Journey, from Jenova Chen and thatgamecompany, did just that, building an epic story without any words, written or spoken. It didn’t need any, either. A deft combination of imagery, music, and interaction made us feel the joy of discovery, the struggle against adversity, the elation of flight. Journey created great complexity out of relative simplicity.

Not everybody stripped down that far, but more than a few games this year dialed back the interactivity to dial up a player’s personal interaction. “Don’t look or it takes you” set the tone for Slender in just six terrifying words. Antichamber’s tests only said enough to make you question every reflex you’ve learned as a gamer. Dear Esther gave you an island and a mystery, but nothing to jump over, no puzzles to solve, or even any items to touch. Like Journey, those approaches all left the explanations open to interpretation … effectively turning the stories themselves into interactive features. Those journeys became our journeys, full of sweeping emotions and buoyed by the indomitable urge to press onward.

Deconstructing our heroes

Sure, games offer a huge slice of power fantasy with a side of personal awesomeness, but I can’t remember ever playing so many out-of-their-depth characters as I did this year. We’ve never been more fragile. We played as children in Unfinished Swan and Papo y Yo. Postapocalyptic survivors in games like I Am Alive, ZombiU, and The Walking Dead always felt like they were mere inches away from disaster. A world of death quickly unraveled protagonists in Far Cry 3 and Spec Ops: The Line.

But that’s nothing compared to what we did to a lot of our old friends. Commander Shepard suffered from survivor’s guilt all through Mass Effect 3. Max Payne’s self-loathing never ran out of downward spirals to charge through (in slo-mo, of course) until he finally reached for the light again. Even the implacable, emotionless masks of Hitman’s Agent 47 and Halo 4’s Master Chief took serious hits as each found something deeply personal to fight for … fights that frequently came with devastating turns. When the Master Chief suddenly refuses a direct order, it’s time to re-evaluate everything he is.

Gamers have become an older, more sophisticated audience. The industry’s responded by adding vulnerability and depth to the people we play as, making us more sympathetic to their goals and more invested in their safety. And with games like The Last of Us and the Tomb Raider reboot scheduled to pound us mercilessly in 2013, you can expect this trend to extend well into the future.

Adventure games are still relevant

I was done with point-and-click adventure games back in the ’90s. I’m back on them now. The team at Telltale Games didn’t just keep the flame alive with The Walking Dead, their superlative five-part series based on Robert Kirkland’s graphic novel (and its television counterpart) … they brought modern game designs into what many considered an outdated genre.

And they did it with an elegantly simple device: the quick-time event. Turns out the same gameplay cliché that annoys me in God of War (and its many clones) instantly turns the usually static point-and-click exercise into a tense, action-packed struggle for survival. It’s panic-inducing to suddenly find yourself zeroing a shaky cursor on a shambling zombie before it takes a chunk out of protagonist Lee or, even more upsetting, to rescue darling Clementine, his young charge, from a grisly fate. That lends real danger to the rest of the story — survival feels tenuous indeed — and the split-second decisions you must make become even more agonizing.

I actually had to step away from The Walking Dead for a while after its devastating third episode. No other game this year did that to me. That little tick-tick-tick countdown behind every choice made Telltale’s simple point-and-click drama as intense … no, more intense … than any high-octane shooter or jump-scare horror game. More, please.

Games are growing up (maybe)

Two years ago, a trailer showing callous killer Agent 47 eliminating a squad of PVC-clad gun nuns wouldn’t have raised much more than a few eyebrows. Hey, we’re the medium where all the ladies in Dead or Alive get a dedicated physics engine for the boob-jiggle. It’s just a game, after all, so who cares?

Except that’s an argument you can make when you’re 12. The average age in the gaming community hovers in the mid-30s.

2012 saw a heightened awareness of and direct confrontation against the sexism that’s long been a part of this industry’s DNA, both in and out of the games themselves. Halo 4’s multiplayer shipped with a zero-tolerance policy toward racist or sexist language — fittingly announced by executive producer Kiki Wolfkill and Microsoft executive Bonnie Ross — and lifetime Xbox Live bans for violators. Gearbox Software tried to include a special character class in Borderlands 2 for less-experienced players before lead designer John Hemmingway self-sabotaged by calling it “girlfriend mode.” Despite that gaffe, it still presented a serious attempt at inclusiveness … which is the opposite of sexism.

We’ve got a long way to go, baby. But at last it seems like we’re moving in the right direction.

]]>02012’s most innovative game ideasThe best games of 2012 (GamesBeat staff picks)http://venturebeat.com/2012/12/21/the-best-games-of-2012-gamesbeat-staff-picks/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/12/21/the-best-games-of-2012-gamesbeat-staff-picks/#commentsFri, 21 Dec 2012 18:00:40 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=594212The Walking Dead may be GamesBeat's Game of the Year for 2012, but here's the other titles our staff picked as contenders for the crown.
]]>It’s cliché to say that 2012 was “the best year ever for video games.” Some folk say this about every year. Yet it’s difficult for us not to look back at 2012 with such love and fondness.

If 2012 has shown us one thing, it’s that video game development is truly in the “crossover era.” GamesBeat’s 2012 Game of the Year, The Walking Dead, was first available as a downloadable title, not a retail release. Other downloadables, such as indie-developed darlings Journey and Faster Than Light, garnered plenty of votes as well. And in our staff’s and contributor’s top games of the year lists, we even see mobile releases — like Fieldrunners 2.

Gaming has changed, and it’s nice to see that it’s more than just big-budget console and PC titles that have earned Game of the Year attention. Here are the top games as chosen by GamesBeat staffers and contributors. Let us know what you think about our picks in the comments — especially if you feel we’ve left something off our lists!

Editor-in-chief Dan “Shoe” Hsu

Little green men — yesteryear’s poster boys for mysterious invaders from outer space — are about as menacing as Oompa Loompas armed with toy guns. XCOM’s little gray men, however, are scary as hell. It’s not the ashen skin, bulbous eyes, or creepy-crawly walk. It’s what these Sectoids represent: a greater threat that we are simply not equipped to handle.

In the strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown, we mere humans bring dull knives to plasma gunfights. And just when we start to catch up in weapon technology, the bug-eyed bastards bring bigger guns and meaner friends. These jerks even cheat with mysterious mind-control powers. Meanwhile, we’re barely keeping the checkbook balanced between research, manufacturing, facility construction, aircraft, and an ever-decreasing budget due to world nations pulling out of the program if you can’t keep them safe (and you can never keep them all safe).

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It all adds up to an incredibly exciting and stressful experience. Each decision — whether it’s which tree to hide your assault trooper behind or which whiny country gets your last airspace-monitoring satellite — feels monumental and permanent. Humanity’s existence is at stake, and we just want to make it to the next month, when a few more pennies come rolling in and a few more traumatized soldiers get out of sick bay.

It’s a desperate fight. And boy will we celebrate when those little gray men are dead.

Shoe’s other picks for best games of 2012: Fieldrunners 2, Dishonored, Journey, Fez

Lead writer Dean Takahasi

The Unfinished Swan is one of the most creative titles yet for the PlayStation Network. It’s an interactive fairy tale where you lob blobs of black paint at a white screen. As you do so, you uncover part of a 3D space hidden within the white scene. Uncovering each scene is a mind-bending task, as you have to navigate perplexing puzzles. You explore the unknown, and as you do so, you uncover a new segment in a fairy tale about a boy who loses his mother. It is a touching story that will remind of you of the zany Alice in Wonderland. Ian Dallas, the game creator, feels that a child who is abandoned is like an unfinished work of art. But just when you think that the game has become predictable, it changes. In some ways, the story seems unfinished. But the title is a wonderful first effort for Giant Sparrow, a new studio bankrolled by Sony.

Dean’s other picks for the best games of 2012: Halo 4, Far Cry 3, Journey, Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Culture editor Sebastian Haley

Indie sensation Hotline Miami is best described as the film Drive, but in a retro, pixelated and somehow even more violent form, with subtle hints of Rockstar’s Manhunt sprinkled on top. The short-but-sickeningly sweet levels allow you to carefully orchestrate your symphony of murder and mayhem, filling the floors with maimed corpses and spraying the walls with crimson, all while its surreal, Miami Vice-inspired soundtrack beats in the back of your mind. Basically, if you own a Wii or like looking at livestreams of kittens, this is not your kind of game.

Sebastian’s other picks for best games of 2012: Trials Evolution, Far Cry 3, The Darkness II, Final Fantasy XIII-2

Staff writer Jeff Grubb

For these Game of the Year summaries, we’re supposed to look above and beyond the individual parts of a game. We’re supposed to write about why it is important, but in the case of Mark of the Ninja, it’s those parts that make it so special. Developer Klei’s 2D stealth action game for Xbox Live Arcade and PC is a master class in well-executed gameplay mechanics. Whether it’s a soundwave that ripples off your ninja’s feet to indicate how much noise he’s making or a vision cone that indicates where an enemy is looking, Mark of the Ninja is constantly communicating with the player. It then provides the player with a great controlling character to poke and prod the world with.

It’s not rare that a game makes you feel like a badass, but with Klei’s game it’s not about how powerful you are — it’s about how in tune with the environment your character is. You have so much visual and aural information that every moment is an opportunity for experimentation. You can spend 10 minutes laying out a detailed plan that involves deadly traps, or you can play the entire game without a sword.

In video games, we don’t usually get a lot of new ideas, we just get different takes on old ideas. Stealth is an old idea at this point, but Mark of the Ninja distinguishes itself by executing the concept better than any other game before it.

Jeff’s other picks for best games of 2012: The Walking Dead, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Trials Evolution, FTL: Faster Than Light

Copy editor Jason Wilson

I’m low on fuel. My crew raced around my starship like a colony of ants, hastily putting out fires as doors opened to the cold vacuum of space. The Rebels are closing in on me. Do I take a chance and see if I can gain more fuel in the next nebular cloud, or do I make a mad dash for the next sector and hope to find friendly forces instead of angry adversaries? These are just some of the choices the player faces in FTL: Faster Than Light, the indie roguelike that’s swept upon a number of Game of the Year lists in 2012 (including ours!). What makes FTL so compelling to players is that a take on Civilization’s “one more turn” addictive nature — but instead of furthering your game, you’re driven to see if your next attempt takes you closer to escaping the pursuing Rebel forces. And it’s this that makes FTL one of the most interesting, fascinating, and, yes, best games of 2012.

Jason’s other picks for best games of 2012: The Walking Dead, Crusader Kings II, Torchlight II, Dragon’s Dogma

Contributor Rus McLaughlin

Something visceral. Something primal. Most shooters don’t have these. They settle you into a safe, comfortable role. Veteran soldier. Seasoned cop. Career criminal. A hero … or an antihero. But Far Cry 3 makes you run blind through the jungle while murderous pirates hunt you like a piece of prey. You’re just a terrified kid. Never held a gun before. Never seen anyone die before. Now you’re covered in your own brother’s blood and getting high off the giddy thrill of mere survival. Then you’re turned lose to roam two amazingly rich, open-world islands where you can really start enjoying yourself, slowly and cautiously picking your tormentors apart. Before you know it, the elation you get from destroying a criminal empire hardens into a different kind of drug: revenge.

That’s when Far Cry 3 surpasses the standard shooter fare. An aimless twentysomething becomes a killer of killers, as feared as the insane warlords he wants dead. Between coolly tense stealth play and straight-up gunfights, you become the predator, stalking intruders in your jungle and murdering them at will. It all culminates in a moment where you must decide just how much you enjoy that particular power fantasy. Enough to abandon your humanity? Maybe.

Far Cry 3 goes there. Solid gameplay — minus a weak-tea multiplayer — and incredibly detailed environments lift it far enough, but its secret weapon lies in how it takes you into that dark, primal place. And then it dares you to ignore your basic animal instincts.

Rus’s other picks for best games of 2012: The Walking Dead, Fez, Halo 4, Journey

Contributing editor Rob Savillo

Jasper Byrne’s psychological thriller clearly owes a debt to the Silent Hill series’ mysterious and surrealist approach to narrative, among other things. Lone Survivor weaves a tale of intrigue, always making you second guess your choices while silently tracking your every decision. The latter shows an appreciation for an Eastern European take on storytelling (as seen in The Witcher 2 and Metro 2033) that flows more naturally than Western developers’ tendencies to employ contrived morality systems.

Lone Survivor also smartly reinvents the survival-horror genre by undermining the common trope of item scarcity, which games such as Resident Evil and the aforementioned Silent Hill have used in the past to create tension. Instead, Lone Survivor relies on its narrative sleight-of-hand to keep you on the edge of your seat.

For these reasons, Lone Survivor moves storytelling forward in the medium without falling back on “gamey” concepts such as light/dark paths. At once affecting and engaging, the narrative blends almost seamlessly (aside from an archaic death mechanic) with the interactive elements of the work, elevating the game above its peers in the big-budget, triple-A space.

Contributor Rob LeFebvre

Gravity Rush is the superhero game I’ve always wanted to play. Even without the traditional Western comic book tropes like spandex and capes, Kat functions like any other neophyte comic-book character, only gradually coming into her full power as the story progresses. Her ability to control gravity is disorienting in the best way, as it echoes resonantly with the thematic elements of the story. Kat is as off balance as we are, as we move her about from place to place, finding ever odder, more unlikely spots to land on.

The world breathes with delightfully artistic colors; the environments are a treat to look at while playing. Gravity Rush encourages exploration of every gorgeous spot, with hidden power gems located all around, on top of buildings, under bridges, and the like. Characters pop off the screen with cel-shaded goodness, and fairly glow within the expository comicbook-style sections.

Touch and motion controls are subtle and make sense within the world, but what really makes Gravity Rush sing is the power of flight. Soaring across the various city sections, landing on floating urban debris, flinging objects and even Kat’s own body at the odd-looking creatures during fights is just thrilling, and never once loses its charm.

For me, Gravity Rush is the best title for the PlayStation Vita, showcasing the power and tech of the handheld gaming device to the highest degree I’ve seen yet.

Rob’s other best games of 2012: Guild Wars 2, Dishonored, Journey, Borderlands 2

Contributor Stefanie Fogel

So much sound and fury was made over Mass Effect 3’s controversial ending that it’s easy to forget the final installment of BioWare’s space opera really is a damn fine game. It told a grim tale of galactic war, yet found time in between the dire exposition and bombastic action set pieces to bid fond farewell to characters Mass Effect fans have come to know and love over the last five years. It’s those quieter moments — the shooting match with Garrus, Mordin humming the Major-General’s song as he sacrifices himself, your final conversation with Captain Anderson — that stick with you months after putting down the controller. Mass Effect 3 also (mostly) fulfilled the series’ promise that in-game decisions would matter, paving the way for other morality-based titles like Spec Ops: The Line and our Game of the Year, The Walking Dead. By the time the credits rolled, I had completed every side mission I possibly could during my playthrough because I hated the thought of leaving that world behind, which I believe is one of the highest compliments you can pay to a game developer.

Stefanie’s other best games of 2012: The Walking Dead, Persona 4 Golden, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Dishonored

Contributor Kat Bailey

Even compared to the normally high stakes world of triple-A publishing, Microsoft and 343 Industries had plenty on the line with Halo 4. If it ended up being mediocre — or worse, an outright flop — the brand as a whole would have a hard time recovering. With that in mind, the sighs of relief throughout Redmond, Wash. must have been deafening when the top scores started coming in, with even diehard Halo fans giving their emphatic thumbs up.

Halo may not be the be-all, end-all shooter anymore, but it remains quite relevant in the world of online gaming. A lot of that has to do with the distinctive blend of action the series brings to the table — shield management, tagging foes with grenades, and properly using the small but multidimensional maps. 343 Industries seems to have a keen understanding of this action, and it’s perfectly replicated it for Halo 4, throwing in a few of their own twists along the way (the Starhawk-like Dominion Mode is a favorite).

That 343 Industries understands the “recipe” for a good Halo game is only part of the story though. With new modes like Spartan Ops — a series of free downloadable microcontent — they are putting their own stamp on the beloved series. For that reason, the air of skepticism surrounding 343 Industries has largely been replaced with one of legitimacy. Now we’ll see if they have the wherewithal to use that currency to make something truly special.

Intern Mike Minotti

Guild Wars 2Platform: PC, MacPublisher: NCSoftDeveloper: ArenaNet

World of Warcraft is king of the massively multiplayer role-playing game. It’s probably going to sit comfortably on that throne for years to come. But 2012 brought us Guild Wars 2, the first MMO I played since 2004 that I actually preferred to Blizzard’s take on questing on adventuring.

Guild Wars 2 doesn’t reinvent online adventuring, but it’s littered with smart design choices that make you smack your head and yell, “Duh! Why hasn’t it always been like this?” Turning in quests? The hell with that! Guild War 2’s adventures happen organically and painlessly, without having to talk to multiple townspeople with exclamation marks hovering over their heads. Want to visit an unexplored zone that’s designed for players at a lower level than your own? Guild Wars 2 scales your character down so that you can still have a challenging time tackling each area’s trials.

It doesn’t hurt that its world, Tyria, is a beautiful land that’s fun and rewarding to explore. Oh, and the lack of a subscription fee? Yeah, I like that, too.

Guild Wars 2 is not only more accessible than a lot of its competitors, but it’s frankly a lot more fun than just about any other MMO out there.

Intern Evan Killham

Technically, I’ve never lost a game of Slender … because I’ve never actually finished one. I’ve always quit when the cold sweat broke out.

Developer Parsec Productions’ free horror game is one of this year’s most surprising titles (in every sense of the word). Starting with a simple premise — collect the eight manuscript pages hidden in these spooky woods before eponymous monster Slender Man catches you — Slender uses its too-long arms to yank players into a hell of panic attacks and abject terror.

This game is relentless. Everything you see and hear is designed specifically to unnerve you, and it gets worse with every page you pick up. Even more spectacular is the disconnect between playing this beast and watching someone play it. If you do a YouTube search for “Let’s play Slender,” you risk losing an entire evening in the grips of sweet, sweet, schadenfreude. Boot it up yourself and you will regret ever laughing at those videos.

In a year that gave us two Silent Hill titles and three additions to the Resident Evil series, gaming’s horror genre was desperately in need of some new ideas. And then Slender showed up and made us afraid of the dark again.

Intern Jason Lomberg

Stealth games have never been my cup of tea. Metal Gear Solid 2’s brain-dead guards annoyed the piss out of me, and I usually ended up going “Rambo” in Metal Gear Solid 3, running through danger rather than sneaking stealthily past it. But Dishonored nails it – the sense of danger, the thrill of the hunt, and the exhilaration that comes from successfully pulling off one of Corvo’s many gruesome kills.

As GamesBeat writer Rus McLaughlin points out, Dishonored plays exactly the way you want to play it. You can tear through the City Watch like a Steampunk version of Chuck Norris (minus the roundhouse kicks); you can destroy every living thing in your path with merciless impunity. Of course being a one-man army with a thirst for cold steel and magical spells of destruction makes the game that much harder. But it’s one option.

You can also play the pacifist and refuse to take a life. Or you can utilize the cover system and take out the guards like a silent assassin. Near the beginning, a pack of man-eating rats block your path, and the solution involves drawing them away with a dead body — that’s about the time I realized I was playing something unique and special. The ways to get from point A to point B are endless and never less than thrilling.

Jason’s other best games of 2012: Sleeping Dogs, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Journey, Mass Effect 3

Intern Giancarlo Valdes

Journey is a game that doesn’t feel like it’s made out of textures, wireframes, or lines of code. The glistening sand dunes, the subterranean fortress, and the snow-covered mountaintops feel like real places, inspiring a magical sense of wonder and fear as you explore the unknown. That’s why the bond you form with your anonymous online companion is so powerful: It’s the two of you against the world, a nonverbal pact that is implicitly forged the moment you meet each other.

I didn’t realize this until I saw my partner collapse from the harsh winds during Journey’s climax. I desperately tried to nurse them back to life, but it was no use. I felt a slight pang of sadness as their body perished seamlessly with the natural elements, timidly coming to terms with the fact that I had to face the rest of the game alone. I only lingered on this for perhaps a minute or two, but just the idea of a game making me feel and think this way is a testament to how expertly crafted Journey really is.

By the end, I had experienced an entire range of emotions in a medium where most games have a hard time just trying to invoke one.

Giancarlo’s other best games of 2012: The Walking Dead, Tokyo Jungle, DayZ, Spec Ops: The Line

Intern Jasmine Rea

Few Japanese role-playing games in the last few years have made me want to replay them quite like Persona 4. When developer Atlus announced Persona 4 Golden for the Vita, I knew not buying Sony’s new handheld was completely out of the question.

While it is by far my favorite Vita release this year (and arguably the best game on the platform), Persona 4 Golden is a shining example of how much Japanese RPGs have evolved in the last 10 years. It mixes an intense, emotional story about a group of high school friends with an ongoing murder mystery so well that you sometimes forget about all the supernatural happenings.

Persona 4 Golden’s most powerful element is that shows how everyone has a part of themselves they don’t want to admit exists, and the only way to live freely is to accept that fact. Even though you can’t summon your “true self” to fight for you in the real world, we can all learn a thing or two about accepting ourselves. Persona 4’s relatable characters will show you how.

Jasmine’s other best games of 2012: Resident Evil: Revelations, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Tales of Graces F, Lollipop Chainsaw

Intern Sam Barsanti

It would be easy to explain the appeal of Borderlands 2 by describing it as a cheap way to satiate your hunger for constant rewards. It may be obvious, but the best part of every firefight in the game isn’t the moment-to-moment excitement of rampaging through a horde of bandits, it’s the few seconds after when you get to pick over the loot. The combat is just a means to an end. What really drives you to do anything in Borderlands 2 is the hope that with the next enemy you take down you’ll find a new weapon that is more interesting than your current one. I mean, who can resist an experience that treats every five minutes like a combination of Christmas, your birthday, and a Steam sale all in one?

Of course, to only talk about loot would be too reductive and dismissive of everything else that Borderlands 2 does well. The combat and millions of guns make it a good game, but the cleverness of the world and all of the things in it are what make it one of the best of the year. I won’t remember every bad guy I killed, but I won’t forget being openly mocked by the antagonist or helping one of the characters think of stupid names for local creatures, because those moments were unique (and well written). See, the appeal of Borderlands 2 isn’t the combat or the loot — it’s the gleeful, wacky fun of the whole package.

Sam’s other best games of 2012: The Walking Dead, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, Max Payne 3, Mass Effect 3

]]>0The best games of 2012 (GamesBeat staff picks)Game industry pros confess their piles of shame!http://venturebeat.com/2012/10/12/game-industry-pros-confess-their-piles-of-shame/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/10/12/game-industry-pros-confess-their-piles-of-shame/#commentsFri, 12 Oct 2012 13:00:52 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=545371Everyone has a list of really important games they just haven't played, so we tricked some of the most influential people in the industry into revealing their piles of shame.
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I have never, ever played a Fable game. I always intended to throw on one of Peter Molyneux’s fantasy epics and take it for a spin, and hey, I still do. Someday. Really.

But the simple fact is this: If you game, you’ve got a pile of shame … that list of titles you haven’t played yet but fully intend to. Someday. Really.

Nobody likes to admit it, but few of us have the money and time to play everything we’re interested in. In fact, the number of missed opportunities just grows and grows as shiny distractions (work, family, newer games that look really cool) come into the picture. So as we come out of the summer doldrums and into a very busy gaming season, we asked some of most influential names in the industry to publicly humiliate themselves by telling us what’s still on their piles of shame.

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And they didn’t all answer. But here’s who did.

Cliff Blezinski: former design director, Epic Games (Gears of War)

I’ve yet to go back to Batman: Arkham City because I can’t find the darned disc in my cluttered setup.

Jenova Chen: cofounder, Thatgamecompany (Journey, Flower)

I haven’t played Deus Ex: Human Revolution after the first boss. It’s the game of the year for our lead engineer, John Edwards, so that means a lot. But I haven’t got time to go back to it yet.

Dan “Shoe” Hsu: editor-in-chief, GamesBeat

Mass Effect 2. I don’t understand what all that hub-bub was about the ending to the Mass Effect storyline. We’re still not even halfway through the trilogy, right? Right?

Sigh … yes, this is my big shame game. I’m not even finished with Mass Effect 2 yet. I know it’s something I need to get through — Mass Effect is a major franchise in gaming, after all — but I just can’t seem to find the time. Actually, that’s not true. I somehow scraped together 188 hours for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

I honestly don’t know what it is about this series. I loved the first game, but it took me over a year and a half to beat it because I was constantly leaving it, then coming back, and then leaving it again. For all of 2012, ME2’s been sitting next to my TV, beaming subliminal messages to my brain: “Play me … play me. …” But it hasn’t worked. Now that Borderlands 2 is here, and all the other fall games are arriving soon, I’m afraid part two of this sci-fi trilogy will just have to wait a bit longer.

Morgan Webb: co-host, X-Play

Spec Ops: The Line. Everyone tells me it’s really good. Everyone tells me about the crazy tough choices you have to make. And I even bought it. It is still in the plastic and will likely remain so until about January. It’s not a very large pile. I try really hard to keep up with things. And seriously, Shoe needs to play Mass Effect.

Working on Halo is a pretty involved process. There’s the work, of course – story, universe building, endless meetings, travel … most developers know the score there. But you compound that work with home life, raising an angry 3-year-old, taking out the trash, fixing the sewer, making dinner – there just aren’t that many hours in the day. And so when I do play games in my downtime, they tend to be Halo. Take-home tests, matchmaking, just a ton of Halo stuff. So my pile of shame is almost limitless. And to prove that point, my main shameful miss is a couple of years old, and I still haven’t gotten around to it properly. It’s Red Dead Redemption.

Hardly unusual, but when I did finally put it in my drive, I immediately knew this was a place I wanted to inhabit. And I got as far as the first horse race, couldn’t beat Bonnie around her ranch, and that’s where I left it. Right back to Halo stuff. I also have a miserably small completion ratio of Forza, and in fact I have not unlocked the Halo Warthog that’s squirreled away in there. The least dusty, still-shrinkwrapped item on that pile is Borderlands 2.

I still haven’t seen the new Batman, either, and I only saw Cabin in the Woods because it was on my plane. I genuinely feel actual shame because part of my job is to understand why other games are cool and expose myself to new experiences. I feel like I should really just take a couple of months off to reengage and immerse myself in what’s new and what’s awesome.

Continue Reading ...]]>0Game industry pros confess their piles of shame!Why you’re likely to be playing Grand Theft Auto V by Marchhttp://venturebeat.com/2012/08/01/why-youre-likely-to-be-playing-grand-theft-auto-v-by-next-march/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/08/01/why-youre-likely-to-be-playing-grand-theft-auto-v-by-next-march/#commentsWed, 01 Aug 2012 20:17:30 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=501361Gamers could be playing the next Grand Theft Auto by next spring, analysts agree.
]]>Take-Two Interactive reported weak earnings yesterday, and it was predictably vague about when its Rockstar Games label would ship Grand Theft Auto V, a street-brawling, free-for-all title that could be one of the biggest games of the year: when it ships. Analysts say that simple math suggests Rockstar will ship the game before March 31, 2013.

For gamers, that’s good news. The Grand Theft Auto series has a cult following that has gone mainstream. In 2008, Grand Theft Auto IV sold more than 6 million units in its first week, grossing more than $500 million in revenue. Expectations for GTA V are likely to be higher than that, given the huge growth in the installed base of consoles since 2008. Game fans are salivating at every rumor.

Strauss Zelnick, the chief executive and chairman of Take-Two, said on the analyst call yesterday that the Rockstar team was making “substantial progress” on GTA V, but he declined to disclose a release date for the game. At the same time, Zelnick only slightly lowered the expectations for annual sales for the fiscal year, even though the company missed its target by a long shot in its first fiscal quarter.

Michael Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Securities, said that he does not believe Take-Two can hit its target for revenues in the year ending March 31, 2013 unless it ships GTA V. Take-Two is targeting revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion for the year, with 55 percent of that figure coming from Rockstar (about $963 million) and 45 percent ($788 million) from the 2K Games label. For Rockstar, the Max Payne 3 title is expected to generate no more than $250 million in revenues, and the company’s older catalog of games could generate $150 million. That leaves $563 million in revenue for the fiscal year that Pachter believes could only come from GTA V.

But the chances for an announcement are declining. Rockstar made no announcement at E3 in June, and speculation is mixed about whether it will announce the game later this month at Gamescom in Germany. Pachter expects that a preholiday release is less likely but still possible, but a first calendar quarter release in 2013 might be likely.

Ben Schachter, an analyst at Macquarie Research, agreed that GTA V is likely to ship in the current fiscal year. Atul Bagga, an analyst at Lazard Capital, added that the management guidance suggests GTA V will ship in the first calendar quarter of 2013. Whenever Take-Two makes the announcement, the stock will probably take off, said Colin Sebastian, an analyst at R.W. Baird.

Take-Two could always delay the game and lower its earnings in the future, but that’s a pretty big bomb to drop on a stock that has been battered this year due to missed expectations for games such as Spec Ops: The Line and Max Payne 3. But Zelnick has always been willing to take short-term hits in favor of long-term investment, and the Rockstar leaders, Sam and Dan Hauser, are the ones in charge of production on GTA V. And they’re not known for shipping games early.

]]>1Why you’re likely to be playing Grand Theft Auto V by MarchThe top 15 swag shirts of E3 2012http://venturebeat.com/2012/06/10/the-top-15-swag-shirts-of-e3-2012/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/06/10/the-top-15-swag-shirts-of-e3-2012/#commentsSun, 10 Jun 2012 15:42:36 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=470985Free swag is the universal language of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, and free t-shirts live at the apex of Swag Mountain. So here's the best of what we saw at (or took home from) E3 2012.
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If you’re a journalist who hits enough behind-closed-doors appointments at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, someone will offer you something. Maybe just a bottled water. Possibly an art book. Almost certainly a USB hub that transforms into a USB robot (nope, not making that one up). Swag is the universal language of E3, as ubiquitous as booth babes and banner ads.

Apparel, however, rules the show. Nothing marks status like walking around the L.A. Convention Center with a fairly exclusive — and free — t-shirt nonchalantly draped over your shoulder. And these were the absolute best shirts (plus a few extras) we saw…or took home ourselves.

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]]>0The top 15 swag shirts of E3 2012GamesBeat Weekly Rounduphttp://venturebeat.com/2012/04/13/gamesbeat-weekly-roundup-4/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/13/gamesbeat-weekly-roundup-4/#commentsFri, 13 Apr 2012 21:41:42 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=416064If you follow VentureBeat, but don’t regularly check our GamesBeat site, here’s a list of the best games stories we ran over the last seven days that you may have missed. With all the PAX East 2012 previews and downloadable game reviews hitting, this was a busy week. Among the news, Commodore founder Jack Tramiel […]
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If you follow VentureBeat, but don’t regularly check our GamesBeat site, here’s a list of the best games stories we ran over the last seven days that you may have missed. With all the PAX East 2012 previews and downloadable game reviews hitting, this was a busy week.

Among the news, Commodore founder Jack Tramiel passed away at 83, and Sony killed off its Qore digital game magazine.

]]>0GamesBeat Weekly RoundupSpec Ops: The Line is hiding something (preview)http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/11/spec-ops-the-line-is-hiding-something-preview/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/11/spec-ops-the-line-is-hiding-something-preview/#commentsWed, 11 Apr 2012 15:00:59 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=414251Publisher 2K Games wasn't afraid to take up a huge portion of the PAX East show floor with its four big titles. Spec Ops: The Line is probably the lowest profile of those games, but it shouldn't be overlooked. With an intriguing narrative and satisfying shooting mechanics, The Line has a lot of potential.
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Yager Development showed off the latest version of the big-budget military shooter game Spec Ops: The Line at the PAX East 2012 show last weekend. But there’s still a lot of mystery about both the title and its story. I want to know more.

In the game, the apocalypse has arrived early in Dubai. Once a vibrant city populated by the super-rich, the desert metropolis is now entombed in a layer of sand after a series of devastating dust storms. As the player, I’m supposed to be looking for Colonel John Konrad, a founding member of Delta Force and the current commanding officer of the 33rd infantry. He stayed behind with his men during the evacuation of Dubai to help protect refugees who couldn’t escape. That’s my mission, but the reality on the ground is very different. Konrad and this story as a whole are both hiding something.

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Six months had passed without a word from anyone inside the city, and Konrad — along with his men — were presumed dead. That’s when the military picked up a weak distress signal from Konrad and sent in protagonist Captain Martin Walker, accompanied by two squad-mates, to rescue him.

The style of the rescue should feel familiar to anyone who’s played a Gears of War game. The Line is a third-person cover-based shooter from Yager and the 2K Games label of publisher Take-Two Interactive. It resembles Gears of War because it uses graphically violent melee attacks, forced walking during plot development, and banter thick with exaggerated masculinity.

It shouldn’t be very interesting. But I was intrigued.

Firing an AK47 assault rifle is at least as satisfying as the weapons in Epic Games’ Gears of War science-fiction thrill ride. Enemies require very little damage to kill, which keeps the frustration to a minimum. Hiding behind cover still works, and it’s as satisfying as ever to pop out from behind cover with perfectly aligned sites to snap off a headshot.

Still, saying a thing is about as good as something that’s been around for half of a decade doesn’t exactly make for a great box quote. Yager needs to find a way to set this game apart from the pack of Gears clones.

After a 45-minute hands-on demo, I see potential for Spec Ops to pry itself away from the game that inspired it in two distinct aspects.

The environment is one way. The imagery of a ruined Dubai is interesting to look at. Spec Ops isn’t exactly what you’d expect from a quasi-post-apocalyptic shooter running on Unreal Engine 3 (the same graphical engine that powers Gears of War). That is to say it has more going on than just brown and gray.

The undisputed high note of my experience was when the game introduced the rescue team. Walker and the rest of bravo squad are silhouettes walking across the summit of a dune as the sun rises behind them. Sand whips around in the wind, attacking their skin and the player’s sense of security. It’s a sight that is both beautiful and intense. Hopefully, the devs have more moments like this planned for the final release.

(Small spoiler) After guiding Walker a few klicks into the outskirts of Dubai, it’s become clear that someone set up Konrad’s distress signal as a trap. The audio is playing back on a tape recorder that’s been rigged together with duct tape and spare parts. It doesn’t exactly appear to be standard issue for the U.S. military. Oh yeah, and then there’s the angry-looking men with automatic weapons.

The men waiting to ambush the Delta Force bravo team are refugees. Before the shooting starts, they imply that men in Army fatigues have been fighting against them. Why would anyone fight over this territory? It’s beyond desolate. It’s uninhabitable. Something more is going on here.

As the Emiratees surround and outnumber the protagonist and his squad, they are left with little choice but to fight back with deadly force. One cover-based shooting section is followed by another.

When the game finally introduces some of Konrad’s 33rd infantry, it turns out that they too enjoy firing at the three-man rescue group.

Motivations for these actions are ambiguous. It’s pretty safe to assume that decorated war-hero Konrad is disguising his real reasons to remain in Dubai, and when I finished the demo, I wanted to know what those reasons were.

Spec Ops: The Line does an admirable job setting up a premise that has me curious to see it through. Its familiar mechanics center is coated in candy shell of potential. I know that the game has something. Right now, I don’t know what it is, but I want it. All I hope is that once I have it, it will have been worth getting.

Publisher 2K will ship the game on June 26 in North America.

]]>0Spec Ops: The Line is hiding something (preview)Take-Two Interactive sees big drop in earnings thanks to Max Payne 3 game delayhttp://venturebeat.com/2012/02/02/take-two-interactive-sees-big-drop-in-earnings-thanks-to-max-payne-3-game-delay/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/02/take-two-interactive-sees-big-drop-in-earnings-thanks-to-max-payne-3-game-delay/#commentsThu, 02 Feb 2012 21:51:17 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=385643Take-Two Interactive Software reported a big drop in earnings due in large part because of the delay of its major video game, Max Payne 3. The earnings decline was in line with the expectations of analysts, who had been forewarned, but revenues fell short of expectations. The New York-based company reported GAAP net income of […]
]]>Take-Two Interactive Softwarereported a big drop in earnings due in large part because of the delay of its major video game, Max Payne 3. The earnings decline was in line with the expectations of analysts, who had been forewarned, but revenues fell short of expectations.

The New York-based company reported GAAP net income of $14.1 million, or 16 cents a share, compared with net income of $40.9 million, or 45 cents a share, a year earlier. On a non-GAAP basis, the company said it earned $29 million, or 27 cents a share, down from $49.5 million, or 52 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts had been expecting non-GAAP earnings of 23 cents a share.

“We’re gratified with the quarter’s results and are very excited about our upcoming releases,” said Strauss Zelnick, chairman of Take-Two, said in an analyst conference call on Thursday.

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Revenues were $236.3 million, down 29 percent from $334.3 million a year ago, when sales of the blockbuster Red Dead Redemption helped the company’s performance. Analysts had expected $249.2 million. The only big release for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was NBA 2K12, which was hurt in part because of the NBA player lockout earlier in the season. The game still sold more than 4 million units.
Take-Two Interactive lowered its guidance on Jan. 17 for the fiscal year 2012 ended March 31, thanks to its decision to shift the Max Payne 3 game from the fourth fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2012 to the first fiscal quarter of FY 2013. Max Payne 3 is now set to debut on May 15.

Take-Two now expects revenues for the current fourth fiscal quarter, Take-Two expects revenue to in the range of $112 million to $162 million, with a loss at 50 cents to 65 cents a share. Analysts had previously expected a loss of 11 cents a share on revenue of $185 million.The current quarter includes the release of The Darkness II on Feb. 7, Major League Baseball 2K12 on March 6.

Digital game content in the third fiscal quarter accounted for 11 percent of revenue. That was driven by the release of Grand Theft Auto III — 10th Anniversary Edition, for iOS (iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad) and Android smartphones.

“The goal is to meet consumer’s needs and find them and delight them where they are,” said Zelnick.

Zelnick said that Max Payne 3 from Rockstar Games is shaping up to be one of “our most exciting releases ever.”

The company will also have big titles coming in the new fiscal year including Borderlands 2, BioShock Infinite, Spec Ops: The Line, XCOM, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Grand Theft Auto V, the big title coming from Take-Two’s Rockstar Games label, hasn’t been scheduled yet.

During the year, Take-Two launched big games like L.A. Noire, which sold more than 5 million units since its launch in May 2011. Take-Two said it raised $250 million through a private offering of 1.75 percent convertible senior notes due 2016. Those proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

In the call, Zelnick said he is very bullish on sales of games on tablet computers in the years ahead. He said the company isn’t keen on making risky acquisitions that cost a lot of money. Take-Two has more than $453 million in cash.